~*in the moment*~ bookmarks

I felt like reading, probably because there was harder work to be done.  It was beautiful, mid-afternoon.  How could I be expected to do my chores in such conditions?  I would read.  

Franny and Zooey conveniently rested on the family bookshelf.  I had never read it before, which was even more convenient.  My hand gripped its glossy surface as I proceeded to the couch.  That's when I was walloped with a mind-twisting obstacle: what would I use as a bookmark?  Glancing once more at the book, I took in its sparse, vintage cover.  It was a pretty book.  I wanted a pretty bookmark - one that gave me the same cozy feeling the book did.  

And so, in five minutes, I had one ready.

You, too, can compose a bookmark of equal sentiment and easiness.  Here is what you will need:

Use scissors (not featured above) to cut your card stock in the shape of a bookmark.  Mine is exactly 5 .5 inches by 2.1 inches, but do whatever fits your needs.  For instance, consider the size of your book.  Larger books require larger bookmarks, while tiny books suit bookmarks the size of a baby's thumb.  

Apply smaller clippings to your bookmark with glue or tape.  These clippings should further reflect the mood you are in, your beliefs, or the theme of the book you will read.  

You can use stickers, old birthday cards from an age you no longer associate with, magazine cutouts, and especially old wrapping paper.  These will act as the vessels of your inspiration, creativity, and motivation.  Cherish them.  

No go and enjoy reading!

community moment: drivers ed course

My summer has been mostly productive in participating in the complex system required to get a driver's license.  It's like a ladder with extra slides, rock walls, and bungee cords attached.  It's not all that complicated until you factor in the specific qualifications of your person... and then it gets fancy. Fortunately, I'm about as normal as you get - I'm precisely the age one must be to obtain a license, and have committed no crimes.  So you can say my summer has been boring.  The two weeks of drivers ed was a sweet spot, though.  I enjoyed it.

On the first day, my two best-friend-neighbors (there's a catch - they don't go to my school) and I approached a town home labeled "10."  This was to be our settlement for the next three hours.

We climbed up a steep flight of stairs just beyond the front door, which was an easily claustrophobic experience.  At the top, we reached the classroom of GREG'S DRIVING SCHOOL.  The word GLENN was written on the whiteboard ahead of us.

   

This is GLENN.  He sported grey gym shorts and a white t-shirt tucked in, smelled faintly of cigarette smoke, and wore a friendly, weary expression.  He would be our teacher.  

Before this dawned on us all, we thought we were actually in GLENN'S DRIVING SCHOOL and needed to evacuate immediately.  

No, we were in the right spot, settled within a sea of plastic tables and chairs.  Real traffic signs were nailed to the walls, saying things like "SPEED LIMIT 50."  Other than a small Shrek figurine, these were the only decorations.  

Glenn went on to pass out folders to every local teenager in the room, most of whom were mellow and politely engaged throughout the rest of the course.  Glenn would lecture us for an hour and a half at a time, rattling on about everything automobile-related.  He was an organized speaker, and did a good job at being detached and engaged at the same time.  

We would take a quiz on the lesson each day, which meant note-taking was crucial.  The fifteen-minute break was our salvation.  It would be a stiff, air-conditioned hour and a half.  Sitting next to my two friends, I felt the need to be just a little goofy.  This pressure didn't mesh well with the need to pay attention.

So, the break.  A sunlit walk to 7-11.  To describe it fittingly, I'd say it felt like melted butter running down my back.  

These are my two best-friend-neighbors.  Our two table mates are in the picture way above.  I think I wrote "THANKS, GUYS" to... thank them for being there?  It was somewhat impulsive.  Weird.  I came to really like Jenny and Alec, though, so it all worked out.  Eventually, we all would walk to 7-11 as a parade of five.  There was no awkward tension - just people being nice to other people.  It was an idyllic community moment.  

Highlights -- 

Trying Doritos Loaded, the newest product at 7-11!  Triangles of cheesy breading and melted cheese!  Ewww!  The first batch was additctively enjoyable.  The second was too much to handle.  We quit buying them after that.

Doodling in our notebooks was also a huge deal.  

Aaaaaand... we all passed our final test!

surviving your super awesome learner's permit

A text conversation with Anna and I:

A: Hello man yes We have our permits!
     'Tis much awesome very yay

Me: I know yaaaayyy!

A: I can see my face on a card
     It feels like a license but it's not

Me: We should write haikus.

       My face is on it
       it feels like a real lisence
       i know it is not

A: Aww it's so sad
     This is my haiku

     I got an LP
     And it's da bomb diggity
    What else does it do?

Me: I like to think that
       when I'm alone with my LP
       it can hear my thoughts

       LP is one syllable.

A: Correction:

     Zoe knows nothing
     LP is 2 syllables
     Anna wins again

Me: LP is like "ulp"
       the COOLEST way to say it
       think twice when with LP

A: "Ulp is spelled like that^
     LP is a different thing
     Zoe is a lie

Me: Back to the subject
       Next time I use my LP
       i ulp in yo face

A: My card is sturdy
     It can slap one in the face
     Next it might be you

Me: But I'm too sneaky
        i make you an LP cake
        and you take a bite

A: Anna senses this
     I shall eat no cake of yours
     You should give up now

Then it kind of teetered off, far from the topic of interest at this point.
Who's wondering what it's like to get a learner's permit?  Anyone?
Well....

It began with a few solid days of reading the driver's manual, which was lengthy and pretty self-explanatory.  We then arrived at the Motor Vehicle Place to take a test (required to get a permit) and hand over all of our precious and personal information.  The Motor Vehicle Place was far from glamorous.  A wide expanse of metal benches stretched across linoleum flooring.  Fluorescent lights above.  Prints of old automobiles were framed on the walls, to remind everyone why they were there.

We all, being teens and adults alike, were assigned a number.  Appointment-making isn't the Motor Vehicle Place's style, so we all sat with our little paper number and waited to be called.  Pleasant music accompanied several computer screens around the room, which attempted to amuse us with random facts about celebrities.  Numbers were called frequently, but there were so many.  I waited an hour and a half before mine was called.

Now sitting in a cubicle, my eyes were checked and my photo was taken.  The cubicle lady sent me to a line in the back of the room which had been there all along, composed of people who's numbers had already been called.  They waited to take the test, and so did I.

Bored yet?  Not yet!

My test was on a computer touch screen, operating at poky speed.  I found myself vigorously tapping each button with my finger, to the point of looking crazy.  My photo was placed on the side of the screen, along with a timer that counted down.  I had exactly fifteen minutes to take the test and would be aware of it, gosh darnit.  These may have been what made me bolt through each (fairly easy) question and barely pass.  But I PASSED!

It's nothing anyone can't do.

wizard tells you to throw out your lists

tokens of appreciation, part 3

Every now and then I have a friend who goes off on vacation for a very long time.  Like, a month.  Or two months.  If I'm lucky, I get their address.  Thus begins the creation of a super cool keepsake, a pick-me-up, a moment of bonding between chums.  COLLAGE CARDSSSSS!!!

My usual collage cards are not complex.  In the past, I've made thank-you notes that look like this:

Simply find an emotional photograph (ANYWHERE) and paste it stylishly to the front corner of your folded card stock.  Add "thank you so much" or "thanks a lot" or just "thanks."  Apply this same concept to other scenarios.

Before I got all fancy, I considered thanking my friend for her little card-from-far-away with my usual method.  Then, I got to thinking.

With a simple base, one could add ANYTHING to these green hills!  

And so, the birth of "What Zoe Thinks Vermont Looks Like."  This year, my friend is off to an intense 6-week dance camp in Vermont, which (lets be honest) sounds a little mysterious... a little whimsical.  Why Vermont?  Is it the land of dancers?  The land of rolling green hills, perhaps?  

So yeah.

Collage cards.

Tips:

1. Squirt tacky glue into a dish and paint it onto your scraps with a paintbrush.  It's way stickier than other glues.  

2. Allow paper to hang over the edge of your card as you apply it.  You can trim the edges when you're done. 

3. Take a photo of your potential collage before you glue everything down, so you have something to act as a reference when actually gluing.

more weather acknowledgement

Here's just another way to say, "Hey mother nature, I appreciate you.  In fact, I appreciate you so much, I'm willing to spend another hour editing a video of myself dancing beneath your graceful trees."

But hey, it sure was fun to make!

how a homebody says goodbye to June

Today I ate a bowl of cereal then took a short walk.

surviving your report card

Yes, it's early summer, bringer of indistinguishable weekdays, 4th of July anticipation, electric fans and...

END OF YEAR REPORT CARDSSSSS!!

End of year report cards are no different from regular report cards, except they're slightly worse.  This  brand of grade-listing includes every single exam grade, cumulative GPAs, and total everything.  It's all on the table - and addressed to your parents.  We children are presented with the classic report card situation, at this point, which may entail our obedience to the report card and its wishes.  We hand it to our parents.

If you're like me, this is kind of like showing your parents your paycheck.  It's my business, not theirs.  And yet, they're concerned for me.  They are my legal guardians, after all.  Almost everything that's my business is also theirs.

AND YET, it's like... it's like...

"Honey, do you really make this little money?"

"Would you consider maybe getting another job, to help you with your first?"

"I don't think your passions are paying off."

This metaphor mostly just helps justify my unexplainable anger whenever my parents are dissatisfied with my report card which, if you were wondering by now, is not really that bad.  Never once did I proclaim, "I've stopped caring" this year.

So why do we get so angry when our parents speak wearily of our grades, as if our failure was making them uncomfortable?  

Is it an independence thing?

Do we feel insecure about our grades, and plainly want others to not see them?

I don't know.  I do know that my discomfort on the whole situation evaporated after my dad left the house for a bike ride.  It's gone now, only to come again next year.  

I also know that in the end, my grades will effect only me, and though my parent's emotions cushion what hazy future lies ahead, the grades will determine more than anyone's feelings will.

metro solo

(My attempt at a cool photoshop collage like the ones in ROOKIE Magazine)

Taking your metro/subway system in stride and riding the train on your own is so empowering and SO MUCH FUN!  Throw a few friends in there, too - just NO PARENTS.  I was originally going to create an entirely new blog for the tween age group and center it around this very post, until I realized that tweens (typically aged 11-13) should not ride the metro on their own in fear they may be recognized as children.  That is why I am (kind of) accompanied by my dad in the collage above.  Until I scratched him out.  Because now I am METRO SOLO.

P.S. if you have been Metro Solo for a very long time and find the following information quite obvious, I'm sorry.

How to be Metro Solo (let the phrase catch on):

1.  Where to? (optional)
The train goes places, doncha know.  Use a set destination as an incentive to hop on the train with enthusiasm.  Go to a far-off grocery store, the mall, or even a new town with cool stuff in it.  Meet a friend who you'd have to drive a ways to get to.

2.  Mapping
You may have to walk an intricate path to actually get to the metro/train/subway station, and from that metro station you may end up at another metro station where you may hop on a different train.  It's complicated, and I recommend using Google Maps to get ya through it.  Type the address of your destination into the address bar, making sure to click the little train icon beneath it.  Directions will -tada!!- be provided.

3.  Gear
Why not take use of the handy bike lockers they have at your metro station and bike there?  Another system to get to know!  Also, don't forget a backpack with snacks and maps and phones and stuff in it.

That's about it!  You barely needed instructions.  Have fun mastering your land.  This is YOUR LAND!

fortune cookies in bulk

This year's summer getaway was a family reunion-type thing in the mountains of the northwest, which was just as satisfying (and confusing) as it sounds.  Part of this experience was getting to tear open a foot-and-a-half tall bag of fortune cookies, and reading every single fortune.

We were staring at this appalling product, purchased by my cousins TO EAT, when my Aunt B said, "I wanna open them all" or something.  Then WE DID.  

Bulk bags like this can be found in various grocery stores off the beaten path, and most likely on the internet.  I recommend giving this sort of activity a go, particularly for the snarky comments that are sure to be made about each fortune.

surviving summer

Summer can be (and usually is) a good feeling.  It's safe, comfortable, and expects very little of you.

Summer is not always a good feeling.

If you're like me, summer's debut has been BITTERSWEET, mainly due to hour-long periods of nothingness wherein I may analyze my worth as a human and it's meaning.  My solution?

I compiled a list of every single fun summer activity I could think of.  Then, I can kind of hurl myself (and you can, too!) at each activity with such force that I (you) may completely forget my (your) worries all together.

This, in a way, is a method of avoidance, so I would also recommend taking some time to tell yourself that you are certainly not expected to become a better person over summer break and what matters most is that you do not turn into a potato but really just try to enjoy yourself out there and also turn off your brain for a while.

Gee, Zoe, what's eating you?

I will be a Junior next year, and it's really bothering me.  When I was a freshman (which, by the way, felt like yesterday), I saw Juniors as the most well-adjusted of us all.  I idolized them and their confident social lives.  Over the past two years I have come to realize that 

(a) "confident" social lives are not for everyone, 

(b) a lot of people don't have "confident" social lives and don't really give a damn, and 

(c) Juniors are the exact same people they were as freshmen, more or less, they're just a little less bewildered.

So, before my brain came to realize all of this, I thought that over the mere course of two months (summer), I would flower into the Junior I was always meant to be, and everything would be perfect, and it would be all on me to make happen.

So yeah I was a little stressed out and needed a guide to escape my own anxiety.

THUS:

1. Bike to picnic
2. Tye dye
3. Make lemonade (REAL lemonade, the kind that you could totally sell)
4. Rollerblade music video
5. Fancy pool day - good swimsuit, towel, sunglasses, snacks, water slide n' all
6. Backyard campout (don't forget the s'mores bonfire)
7. Sew a pretty dress, skirt, or top 
8. Take METRO to: shopping in the city, picnic in the city, museums in the city, or classes in the city!
9. Hiking day!  Get in the GEAR!
10. Beach day (drive up to the nearest beach, swim the heck out of the beach, then drive back)
11. Water park day (same deal)
12. Eat out for breakfast 
13. Take an early (as in sunrise) morning bike ride
14. Paint on big sheets outside (I have not discovered a purpose for this yet, but have been wanting to do it
15. Buy a can of shaving cream and empty the entire thing into a bathtub, then play with it
16. Go to an Asian supermarket and buy neat candy/pastries
17. Host a dance party with all the best music
18. Go eat sushi 
19. Have the ULTIMATE spa day, no fooling around here
20. See a matinee
21. Try rock climbing
22. Have lunch with an old friend ("having lunch" is a very civilized and satisfying way to do it!)
23. Go to the thrift store 
24. Clean the house
25. Make dashboard cookies
26. Make a day-long video log ("vlog")
27. Make miniature shoebox dollhouses (put your Malibu Stacy in one)
28. Make an obstacle course
29. Make cute things to stuff in people's mailboxes
30. Spend a day reading nostalgic books of your childhood (Like Calvin and Hobbes or The Mouse and The Motorcycle)
31. Speaking of which, do all of Ramona Quimby's favorite activities
32. Make a painting outside (called "plein air" painting)
33. Make a water slide (lay out a huge plastic tarp over a grassy hill, then run the hose over it)

Have fun!

**note** it may not be wise to attempt ALL of these activities - perhaps pick a few favorites.

community moment: 5th grade graduation

             

One of my closest friends lives less than a block away, which might be why she's one of my closest friends.  Might this be a super awesome friend chicken-and-egg scenario?  Anyway, she's got these two younger twin sisters.  Er, two younger sisters who are twins.

These twins had a 5th grade graduation to attend.  Seeing as I've known them long enough to consider myself a distant cousin to them (or perhaps a weird aunt), I willingly hopped in the way-back of their family sedan to attend this graduation.

As a note, the top two images depict the twins as I first saw them, moments before leaving the house. The first (E) greeted me energetically at the door, as usual.  The second (C) appeared shyly from upstairs, a soft evening light glowing on her face in a pretty way.

The ride to WHAT WE THOUGHT WAS OUR OLD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (but ended up being An's high school) was very bubbly.  

Here, in the larger-than-our-elementary-school-gym auditorium, sat each fifth grade teacher along with a podium and some balloons.  Before we noticed this, we noticed the swarms of small pre-adolescents, decked out in glittery Target gowns and baggy tuxedos.  They occupied every inch of breathing space, vibrating like ions packed tightly together.  There was lots of nervous energy.

Some highlights: we spotted An's doppelganger, singing in the introductory choir.  They sang "Happy," by the way.

Around five kids then gave speeches on what they found to be the most exciting part of elementary school.  These speeches were well-organized... definitely proofread, but genuine.  C gave one, too!  Her's was the most unique: it was on how she met her best friend, a detailed account.

There was one particularly confident girl wearing only a baggy t-shirt and shorts.  She was fun to watch.

I'm glad to have gone.  I barely remember my own 5th grade graduation, but recall being a fantastically confident person.  I wore a boxy batik tank top and skirt that didn't match very well, but left the place with flair.  That flair would eventually die down, muffled by my lowering of self-esteem.  That's just what happens.  5th grade remains golden.

pottery shop people

I recently got my first job, working at a paint-your-own-pottery place.  It's great!  I feel accomplished on so many levels, as though sunshine is pouring out from multiple locations on my body.  Sorry for that image.  It took effort to get, though, so lalalalala.

I've only worked two days, but am already getting excited about all the interesting people I'll see each day.  I've sketched out some of the best "CHARACTERS" so far.

This is the impish older sister of a girl inside the shop, who NEVER came inside.  The whole time her 6-year-old (or so) younger sister was painting away, she hovered by the window in an anxious state.  Sometimes I'd look over, and she'd be in a different spot, but still by the window, and I'd get a little creeped out.  I think she came inside once, but only for a second.  

There was a man who stayed in the shop for literally three hours, working only on a mug.  He went all out with this mug, measuring different spots with a special ruler and tracing lines with pencil.  I'm sure it will be the most perfect mug anyone has ever made.  Meanwhile, children from a birthday party were zooming around his table in circles.  He stayed focused, but I later learned that he is a lawyer and likes to come here to relax and be creative.  His daughters are artists.

Last but not least, four girls came into the shop all wearing identical stretchy skirts of different colors.  It perplexed me, but others cease to be amazed.

neighborhood b-o-n-d-i-n-g

I've had some lonely moments, particularly last winter, that left me yearning for some kind of connection with the human race other than just my peers at school.  So, long story short, I decided to start a club.  In our neighborhood.

The club I came up with is titled "the Pizza and a Movie Club," and acts as an anti-book club for all teens and tweens within roughly four blocks of each other.  Activities consist of exactly what is listed in the title: eating pizza and watching a movie.  We've had four meetings so far (which are once a month), and each has been at a different kid's house.  The kid gets to pick the movie and order the pizza.

1. how?  huh?  
I passed out flyers (litterally) to neighborhood parents, advertising the club.  They looked like this:

Parents responded postitively, saying they were sure their kids would be into it.  I did not, however, recieve any RSVPs.  I had to go through the neighborhood directory and personally call each household I was fairly familiar with.  HOT TIP: get a neighborhood directory.

The phone calls were a kinda scary, but if you keep a friendly tone, little can go wrong.  I said something along the line of, "As a teen, I'm starting a neighborhood club for teens and tweens.  Pizza.  Movie.  Yes?"

2. through the birth canal, the graphic arrival of P&M Club
I called each potential member three times.  Once to get their contact info, then the second time to see what Friday/Saturday they were available.  A few dates matched up for everybody.  I called a third time to verify that the club would indeed exist.  It would be hosted at my house.

3. setup
A clean house and some snacks on the table are good staples, in my mind.  I was sure to have activities available, like cards or Wii or boardgames, but those never happened.  For an hour, the kids were content to just sit and talk.  The next three meet-ups were like this.  If you have a particularly stoic collection of tweens and teens in your neighborhood, I think extra activities are useful.  Otherwise, the party just... GOES.  I cannot emphasize this enough.

4. and the moral of the story is...
If you want to start a club, you are officially the mom of that club until it learns to fly.  It's a little bird.  You're teaching it.  To fly.  You're the mom.  It's a bird.  You got it.  SO, you are required to tirelessly contact all potential members.

After this is complete, the club has zero requirements (other than its required activities, of course).  No one has to get along, no one has to talk, no one has to bond.  Socializing is like - if I may present you with another metaphor - taking a shower.  You feel good afterwards, even if you were just standing there.  After a few meet-ups, it's OK if the club dissentegrates.  Chances are, though, that people will feel joyful to have a place to go and people to see on a friday night.

tie dye afternoon

Tie dye may seem like your AVERAGE afternoon activity, but the process has remained somewhat of a mystery to me - and a few of my friends.  Thus, you have an afternoon activity that is sure to excite and engage!  

Picking only ONE unusual task to attack with friends (as opposed to five or six) is usually a guaranteed success, given the task isn't that difficult.  Tie dye, it turns out, isn't.  Here's how:

Pick out some white shirts!

Find a bucket in your basement.  You have one, I promise.  Fill with hot water and ~*soda ash*~, then add the shirts.  Dance around for 20 minutes, letting the shirts soak.

Ring out your shirts, then proceed to rubber band them.  Instructions for making different designs will be included in the box, but there's also the internet - and your own lively imagination!  I am a fan of the accordion fold and the little nubs.

Go outside to do this!

You probably want to put on some rubber gloves for the dying, but if you prefer not to, it washes off in two days.  I recommend covering almost the entire shirt in dye for a BOLD effect.

Wrap your gross, damp, dye-covered shirts in plastic wrap, then stick in grocery bags.  Let your shirts "sleep" over night, then return to them around the same time the next day.

When it comes time to reveal your shirt, maybe call your friends and have everyone do it at the same time.  Maximum funness!

Rinse your beautiful creation in cold water.  Hang to dry.  Wash in the washing machine after this, but don't let your shirt in with the other clothes until one or two washes.

love letter

surviving procrastination

Free time almost feels sweeter when it's not supposed to be free time.  Those first moments home after a long day feel infinitely pleasurable.  The pleasure must never end!  In those moments, it is OK to gorge on all things microwavable.  It is OK to sing "Single Ladies" (yes, in proper quotation) at the top of your lungs and film yourself in the process.  

It is not OK to do this for long.  

You know.

You can't stop.  ("The pleasure must never end!")

You WILL stop.  Here's how!

1.  Step away from the computer

You don't have to start your homework - just step away.  Just get away from it.  You can come back soon.  Just spend five minutes doing nothing.  Away from the computer.

2.  Deal with it.

The only acceptable time to start your homework is now.  All other times are shameful.  Though your stomach cringes at the thought of prying yourself away from nothing at all, this is not a matter of emotion.  This is a matter of survival.  

3.  Face the day's agenda

Look your to-do list in the eye and locate the easiest, dumbest task.  Do that one.  Maybe there are other more challenging items you'd really like to cross off.  Ignore their incessant plea for attention and do your math worksheet.  It's easy.

4. Timer?

Even having selected the easiest item on your to-do list, you still don't feel like doing it.  Start a timer for five minutes and dive in.  When it's gone off, I promise your mind will have evolved into an intellectual genius.  If not, do this a few times

and return to your five-minute method.

5.  At this point

At this point your problem should be solved.  Otherwise, I got nothin'.  JUST KIDDING!  I do believe, however, that the most effective way to rid your body of procrastination is to simply STOP.  

You do (procrastinate), until you don't.  

But hey, here's one last method:

I make bad iMovies when I don't want to do my homework.